I love this song because it speaks to the strength in all of us, our ability to defy critics or any who would bring us down and be our own revolution. While i generally believe less in individualism and more in a global community than this song seems to, it definitely captures the need to be strong and express your awesomeness. Also, it was in Cadet Kelly which is obviously the best Disney Channel Original Movie ever (that didn’t feature Ryan Merriman).”- Jenna Sackler

“Man! I Feel Like A Woman by Shania Twain. Feminist anthem and go-to karaoke song.”-Erin Riordan

“Friendzoning is bullshit because girls are not machines that you put kindness coins into until sex falls out.” –Person on the Internet

Christina Crisostomo:

I love this quote from former Feministing editor Vanessa Valenti on the future of (online) feminist activism. It’s my go-to on days when I just want to curl up into a big ball of sad, and then I remember there’s this wonderful thing called self-care:

“[W]e need to demand more from ourselves, to think even bigger, be more inventive, and more pro-active. We also need to demand more for ourselves. That includes demanding more time for ourselves, and care for our hearts. Being an activist changes your heart permanently, and that takes a special kind of nurturing, particularly when we’re facing so much and working so damn hard. So I think we need to care for ourselves (and each other) more adeptly. It’s as simple, and ridiculously important, as that.” -Vanessa Valenti

Lindsey Fountain:

“Why do people say ‘grow some balls’? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.”-Betty White

Carly Rosenfield:

“Solidarity is not a matter of altruism. Solidarity comes form the inablity to tolerate the affront to our own integrity of passive or active collaboration in the oppression of others, and from the deep recognition that, like it or not, our liberation is bound up with that of every other being on the planet, and that politically, spiritually, in our heart of hearts we know anything else is unaffordable.”-Aurora Levins Morales

“Men often say that women change their minds too much. I say they sometimes don’t change them enough. I mean changing their state of mind, their attitudes, their outlook, their expectations, their consciousness- most of all, about themselves and what is possible in their lives.”-Julia Alvarez

Kat Kelley:

“From my membership in all of these groups I have learned that oppression and the intolerance of difference come in all shapes and sizes and colors and sexualities; and that among those of us who share the goals of liberation and a workable future for our children, there can be no hierarchies of oppression.”-Audre Lorde

“De gustibus non est disputandum”-in matters of taste, there can be no dispute. It’s the Latin equivalent of ‘you do you.’

Erin Riordan:

While it is difficult for me to choose one quote that represents why I love feminism, this quote represents how I see the world at large and our role in it, and informs my understanding of feminism:

“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”-Aboriginal activists group, Queensland 1970s

Amy Wiggington:

This may seem like a strange quote to associate with feminism, but I see it as a reminder of all the work we have left to do. It’s from Portia deRossi in her memoir, Unbearable Lightness.

“I should’ve had my sights set on successful businesswomen and successful female artists, authors, and politicians to emulate. Instead, I stupidly and pointlessly just wanted to be pretty. I squandered my brain and my talent to squeeze into a size 2 dress while my male counterparts went to work making money, making policy, making a difference.” -Portia deRossi

What are your favorite feminist quotes? Include your responses in the comments below.

“In the words of my Fem Theory professor, “This class is not going to make you happy.” Most of the time, she’s right – feminism often leaves me feeling infuriated. Once you’ve started seeing the world through a feminist lens, it’s hard to stop. While this is helpful in an academic setting, other times it’s simply exhausting. If I were to discuss the implications of slut shaming and the importance of female sex empowerment every time someone used the word “slut,” I’d never shut up and would probably have no friends. Active feminism requires a lot of self-critique and anger, and sometimes, I just want to take a break and read Cosmo.” – Nicole Chenelle

“Rant: We need to bring more voices to the table!

Rave: I love sassy, not-taking-shit, over it, feminists who call society out on its bullshit and aren’t afraid to be called “radical” for wanting to be treated as an equal.” -Kat Kelley

“Rant: I dislike the exclusivity that sometimes happens in feminism. The idea that feminism is only about women is frustrating, because feminism is about women, men, transmen, transwomen, genderqueer individuals, and everyone else as well. It’s not about people of one race or one socioeconomic background, and I think that feminism sometimes forgets to highlight all feminist voices, and instead focuses only on a narrow perspective.

Rave: I love that feminism is empowering. I love that as a movement it is never afraid to back down, and that no fight is deemed too big or too small or unimportant. I love that feminism challenges all oppression, and asks us to create a world that will be better to all of us.” -Erin Riordan

“Male ownership of women’s sexuality is guaranteed to set me off on a rant. Yes, I am a lesbian; no I am NOT dancing/holding hands with/kissing my girlfriend for your entertainment, not I do NOT want you to try to get in on this, and NO, I do NOT want to have a threesome with you. Sod off.” -Meghan Ferguson

What are your feminist rants and raves? Include your responses in the comments below.

To be included in next week’s edition of “Fabulous Feminist Fridays,” email feministsatlarge@gmail.com with your favorite feminist quote!

In Honor of Fabulous Feminist Fridays, we present you with select responses to the question: What movies or T.V. shows speak to your brand of feminism or have inspired you to be a feminist?

“Parks and Recreation, of course. Leslie Knope is a proud feminist, a highly ambitious woman, and a funny one too – and she makes all of these things look cool. I’m so inspired by her character that I made this my desktop image during finals last semester and I swear it’s what carried me through. Knope 2016! (Just kidding…kind of.) Not to mention Amy Poehler is a real life feminist too!”

-Christina Crisostomo on Parks and Recreation

“Not only does Leslie Knope champions women’s empowerment, and have female political idols from both the left and right, but also takes on other feminist issues like comprehensive sex education, equality in the workplace, and breaking the glass ceiling. Not to mention, it’s hilarious.”

–Caitlin Corrigan on Parks and Recreation

“‘Friday Night Lights’ is a T.V. show mainly about football, yet the wife of the all star football coach has her own growing career as a teacher and administrator. The final episode includes the couple’s decision to finally put the wife’s career before her husband’s and move out of Texas. I like how the show displays an honest struggle between a husband and wife who both love their careers and love each other.”

-Emma Rice on Friday Night Lights

“‘A League of Their Own,’ taught me that women always rise to the occasion. And that it’s okay to play T-Ball in polka dot skirts and tap dancing shoes.”

-Kat Kelley on A League of Their Own

Buffy taught me not to fear what men think, to love my strong body for the awesome things it can do, to rely on myself and that kicking ass, leading are perfectly normal female roles.

-Laurel Chor on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

“All Disney movies will always hold a special place in my hear, and I especially appreciate the strong female protagonists of the newer movies, such as “Tangled” and “Brave.” “I’ll be shooting for my own hand!” Go Merida!”

-Nicole Chenelle on Disney films

“If there’s one film that I rely on to express my feministyness […] it’s absolutely 9 to 5. If you haven’t seen it, drop whatever phallocentric patriarchal textbook your male professor is making you read and run towards Netflix. Because if you haven’t seen it, you haven’t seen Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Mothaluvin Fonda get fed up with their womanizing (read: “jerk”) boss and decide to abduct and kidnap him so that they can run the office themselves. That’s right. I know what you’re thinking: this film depicts everything that I have always wanted to do, and that’s right. The difference is that 9 to 5 just uses some of your favorite leading ladies to live out your fantasies. […] It’s indulgent. It’s funny. It’s fun. It gives you everything that you’ve ever wanted to do to those arrogant chauvinist pigs in really satisfying detail. And at the end, when they win and the office is a feminist paradise to rival Sweden, it’s your turn to ask why you aren’t living out that dream as well. And that’s where action starts.”

-Tucker Cholvin on 9 to 5

And of course, we can’t forget Johan Clarke’s assessment of Teen Wolf.

What flicks would YOU pick? Leave your answer in the comments.

To be included in next week’s edition of “Fabulous Feminist Fridays,” email feministsatlarge@gmail.com with your response to the following question: What are your feminist raves and rants? What do you love about the feminist movement, and what changes would you like to see?

I am feminist because I believe in equality. Feminism has nothing to do with shaving legs or burning bras; it’s about fighting for the rights, freedom, and opportunities that men take for granted.

Mary Toscano

The global sisterhood. Supporting and empowering women who do not have the same opportunities I have.

Kat Kelley

Feminism, to me, stands solely for equality. It does not mean hating men (as a man, that would make no sense), it does not mean lesbianism (again, I cannot be a lesbian because I have a penis), it does not mean yelling loudly in the streets, and it does not mean every woman has to become CEO. It means a woman has just as much right to choose for her life what she wants out of it as a man does. If someone tells her to live it any other way, be it from man or woman, than she has been wronged, and as a feminist, I seek to right that.

Johan Clarke

For me, feminism is empowerment, equality, justice, a challenge to oppression, and a movement that puts forth the notion that all people deserve dignity, respect, rights, and opportunities.

Erin Riordan

What does feminism mean to YOU? Leave your answers in the comments.

To be included in next week’s edition of “Fabulous Feminist Fridays,” email feministsatlarge@gmail.com with your response to the following question: What movies or T.V. shows speak to your brand of feminism or have inspired you to be a feminist? Include one to three sentences explaining why.

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